“Jesus, the Sign” by Colleen O’Sullivan

“Jesus, the Sign” by Colleen O’Sullivan

Wednesday of the First Week in Lent

Jonah began his journey through the city and had gone but a single day's walk announcing, "Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed," when the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth.  When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in the ashes.   When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way, he repented of the evil that he had threatened to do to them; he did not carry it out. (Jonah 3:4-6, 10)

While still more people gathered in the crowd, Jesus said to them, "This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah.  Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. (Luke 11:29-30) 

Piety

Even now, says the Lord, return to me with your whole heart for I am gracious and merciful. (Joel 2:12-13)

Study

If you follow America’s Got Talent (AGT), you’ll recognize the name Shin Lim.  He was named Champion of Season 13 last year and, more recently, won further recognition as the winner of AGT’s Champions show, where winners from around the world were showcased in competition with one another.  Shin Lim is a master of sleight of hand and card tricks.  I’m not the least bit interested in magic, but even I wondered how he made those cards disappear and reappear, often nowhere near where they had started out!  The audience just couldn’t get enough of him! 

The people in the crowd around Jesus would have been right at home in the AGT audience.  They shared the desire for a good show. They’d like to have seen a few more lepers completely cleansed or paralyzed people get up and walk after Jesus was done with them.   And that’s exactly what Jesus was reacting to, the desire of the crowd merely to be amazed or to have a good story to relate around their supper tables that night.

Jesus didn’t become one of us to entertain us.  He came to save us from ourselves and our sinful ways.  As far as he was concerned, the crowd already knew the story of Jonah, and, therefore, was familiar with the sign of Jonah.  Jonah, reluctantly, of course, traversed the pagan city of Nineveh telling its inhabitants to repent or be destroyed in 40 days.  For a people not well acquainted with the God of Israel, the Ninevites took the message surprisingly to heart.  From their ruler to the least among them, they turned from their evil ways and garbed themselves in sackcloth and ashes.  And God spared them, because of their sincere repentance. 

Action

In Sacred Fire, Ron Rolheiser writes of the difference between amazement and wonder.  Amazement is ephemeral and shallow.  The crowd may have been amazed at what Jesus could do, but they didn’t give his actions great thought as to their meaning, nor did they stop to wonder who this Jesus in their midst might be.

Our task during Lent is not to be amazed and then move on to something else, but to stop and wonder at Jesus’ actions, not just in the pages of Scripture, but in our very own lives.  This past Sunday, the Gospel related the story of Jesus’ temptations in the desert.  When have you been tempted and tried by the evil spirit and felt the Holy Spirit take you by the hand to keep you from choosing the wrong path?  When have you ever been paralyzed with fear and felt God guide you through the morass of your fear, leaving you standing tall?  When have you been crippled and bowed down by the weight of sin and been freed by the forgiving touch of the Lord?  When have you been stumbling blindly through life and felt God open your eyes so that you could more clearly see the way to go?

If you take time to ponder the ways in which God touches your life, you will be filled with wonder at the overwhelming love and grace bestowed upon you.   And gratitude doesn’t lie far from wonder.

What Wondrous Love is This

What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul,
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul.